Vaccination – Covid Vaccine Forms

By Mrs N Mawby10th October 2021

12-15 year olds will be offered the vaccine via the school-based programme.

Students in Years 10 and Year 11 have been given their consent forms. Check with your son/daughter that they have taken their form. The school vaccination nurses are in school on 10th November. If your son/daughter are currently in year 8 and 9 and did not attend school on their designated covid vaccine day and so missed their chance, then you can fill in the consent form and return to the school office to be added to the list. Please read the letter that goes with consenting and return the consent form to the school office by the end of this week (15th October 2021).  (A reminder if any student has tested positive for Covid 30 days before the vaccine date they cannot have the covid vaccine).

Crew Kahlo going into Year 9

By Miss Jones19th September 2021

What a busy first couple of weeks crew Kahlo has had in Year 9!

There’s never a dull moment at XP, especially at the beginning of term. We kicked off the new year with an outward bound trip where we went abseiling off a bridge (80ft!) and caving:

On our second day of Year 9, crew took part in a number of fun challenges (working as a crew) in the morning and then played the other Year 9 crews in a bench ball tournament. We ended the day with a community meeting.

On our third day of Year 9 we walked to Potteric Carr nature reserve and then did a ‘Solo’.

When we got back to school, crew prepared for their POL to explain what they had done that week and what they had learnt from it. They worked well as a team to present to their peers and parents.

As you can see – we don’t mess about! We start as we mean to go on here at XP.

Cant quite believe that crew Kahlo are in Year 9 already – bring it on!

 

X24 History, getting started with revision!

By B Batty17th September 2021

Students this week have been given their own copy of the revision guide for our History exam board OCR B SHP History. All students should have named their copy so that if they are misplaced they can be returned. Students are encouraged to annotate and highlight the guide as they carry out their revision.

The revision guide has a number of different topics, however, students will need to focus on the following sections for revision:

  • The Elizabethans 
  • The People’s Heath 
  • Living under Nazi Rule 

The locations of these topics can be found in the contents page. We would recommend in general students start by revising The People’s Health as well as focusing on page 88 in order to prepare for the upcoming assessment in lessons. 

If any student has been absent when these revision guides were handed out, they can see myself or Mrs Hannam directly and we will make sure they get their copy.

 

A further revision guide focusing on the Viking Expansion will be issued to students in the coming weeks.

 

 

New College Taster Day Monday 27th September

By K Burns10th September 2021

Today again Scott Faulkner from New College delivered a presentation to our year 10&11 cohort.  I can now confirm that there is an opportunity for all our C24 & C25 students from both schools to attend the NCD taster day on the 27th September.
Could all students complete the form below for the taster day at New College on Monday 27th September. They need to choose 3 options and then a 4th standby. This information needs to be completed by Monday and prospectuses have been shared. The links to the college for both taster day  options and the online prospectus are below.
Please encourage your students to choose sessions they think they will enjoy or are intrigued by rather than in friendship groups, this is an important opportunity to try out before they enrol. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email me. Crew Leaders will also be able to support and advise.
On the day we will be picked up by a coach at XP schools and taken to New College, we need to ensure all students leave from XP. Lunch is provided by college which I am excited about. They will attend 3 sessions and return to school by the usual finish time. 

X25, How can we as Crew, prepare ourselves for the next climb?

By Charlotte OGrady3rd September 2021

X25 have had a great first week back and have really grappled with our guiding question.

‘How can we as Crew, prepare ourselves for the next climb?’

Our biggest challenge was the walk starting at Monsal Head in the Peak District. Students walked 6 miles in preparation for their Duke of Edinburgh expedition. It was a fantastic day for all and it really defined what it means to be crew.

 

We are all excited for the next 2 years preparing for GCSE’s

 

X26 (Year 9): First week back reminder

By Miss Jones28th August 2021

Hi X26 – just thought I would add another blog post to remind you all what the plan is for your first week in Year 9 (I can’t believe you’re going to be Year 9’s!!)

Your first day back is Wednesday 1st September and you need to be in school at 8 am (this is because you all need to do a covid test before we set off). You will be out of school all day so you need to come prepared with the following:

  • Backpack
  • Packed lunch (this will be provided for students on FSM)
  • Bottle of water
  • Hiking boots (these should be in your backpack – come to school in your trainers) 
  • Waterproofs (trousers and a jacket)
  • Plastic carrier bag (to keep everything dry in your backpack if it rains)
  • Baselayer top (not cotton)
  • Midlayer top (not cotton)
  • Warm hat
  • Gloves
  • Sun hat
  • Hiking trousers (not cotton)
  • Hiking / thick socks (not cotton)
  • Wellies (or these can be hired on the day for ÂŁ1)

(All of these items will be used again throughout Year 9 – not just for this week).

We are expected to be back at school between 4.30 pm and 5.00 pm if you need to organise a lift home or plan which bus to catch. 

On Thursday 2nd September you will be in school all day and need to be in for the normal time (8.20-8.30 for crew). You need to make sure you bring your usual school equipment with you (pen, pencil, ruler, and device). Make sure you wear sensible footwear as you will be doing some activities in the sports hall and outside. You will be able to have a school dinner if that’s what you usually do or bring your packed lunch with you.  

School will finish at the usual time of 3.15 pm. 

On Friday 3rd September you need to arrive at school at the normal time for crew (8.20-8.30am) but will be out of school in the morning. You need to bring the same things that you have been asked to bring on Wednesday (apart from wellies – you don’t need those). You also need to bring your equipment and device to use in the afternoon. 

You also need to bring a packed lunch and a bottle of water as we will be out at lunchtime (this will be provided for students on FSM)

School will finish at the usual time of 3.15 pm. 

I hope you have all had a lovely summer break and we will see you all next week!

X24 & E24 College taster day postponed

By K Burns29th June 2021

Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control Doncaster College have taken the difficult decision to postpone XP & XP East’s taster day until the next academic year. This delay is due to an increase in Covid cases and acting on Local authority guidance. I know the students were looking forward to this opportunity however their safety is our first priority.

As Careers Lead for both schools I would like to take this opportunity to thank staff for their support and assure parents/carers that these opportunities and more are planned for  2021/22 as they head into year 11. We are working with local Further education providers and  businesses to create meaningful insights into their options for the next steps on their academic journey.

X24 (Y10) Fieldwork Thursday 1st July (warning – it’s an early start!)

By Melissa Cocliff25th June 2021

We are super excited to be taking C24 out on fieldwork on Thursday, 1st July.

We have arranged to take the whole of Y10 to Shrewsbury Prison, to support our final expedition of the year: Karma Police – have we got justice right?

Shrewsbury Prison was decommissioned in 2013 and now provides an “interactive prison experience” for visitors. It was also recently used as the location for BBC’s drama ‘Time’, which gave a harrowing picture of prison life.

We’re not giving too much away about the activities we’ve got planned for students, but we promise not to leave any of them locked in the cells 😉

We are booked in at the prison at 9.30am meaning that we do have to set off between 6.45am-7am at the latest.  If this is a problem for anyone, please let your Crew Leader know as soon as possible.

We will be leaving the prison at approx 1pm, so hope to be back at school between 3.30-4pm, traffic dependant. We will update socials on the day.

Please make sure students wear comfortable clothes and take a jacket as it can become cold in the prison and sensible shoes. Students will also need a packed lunch and sufficient water for the day. Please don’t pack any products containing nuts in packed lunches as we are a nut-free school!  If your child is in receipt of free school meals, a packed lunch will be provided for them.

X26 Fieldwork – Wednesday 16th June

By Hayley Ibbotson8th June 2021

Finally, we are allowed to go on fieldwork! We have managed to squeeze one in before the end of term!!

We are currently doing the expedition “Call the cops”, looking at crime and punishment through time. We will be looking at the introductions of police and prisons, having already looked at crime and how it was dealt with before this!

In order to support our work for the introductions and developments of our system, we have arranged a school trip to Shewsbury Prison. The prison was closed in 2013 and is used for educational purposes now, so rest assured students will not be walking around a working prison with inmates.

The students will take part in being booked in as prisoners, shown around, then participate in an escape room activity! It is an amazing experience and will be extremely beneficial to the expedition!

We will be leaving school at 7:30am on Wednesday 16th June in order to arrive at Shewsbury for 10:30. We are leaving the prison at 14:00 with the hope of arriving back at school between 16:30 – 17:00. This will be a long day for the students, but I am sure they will love it! Please make sure students wear comfortable clothes and take a jacket as it can become cold in the prison and sensible shoes. Students will also need a packed lunch and sufficient water for the day. Please don’t pack any products containing nuts in packed lunches as we are a nut-free school!

Any questions please feel free to email me on [email protected] or your child’s crew leader!

Thank you!

 

 

And the winner is…..Save The Children!

By David Pearson21st May 2021

Our C25 / Year 9 GCSE Spanish students have been working hard to promote a charity fundraising initiative in aid of Save The Children, as part of our current work on Fair Trade, social equity and child poverty in Latin America. This involved students producing and displaying posters in both schools, and visiting Crew rooms to invite their peers to guess the number of Fair Trade chocolates in a jar. At ÂŁ1.00 a go, the winner with the closest guess to the actual number of chocolates would get to keep them and the jar.

This morning we can reveal that Mrs Cunningham and Crew Rosa won the chocolates in XP School, and Mrs Newrick correctly guessed that there were 99 chocolates in XP East’s jar. As a result of our students’ activism, they helped towards fulfilling the volunteering element of their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, but more importantly (and with the odd extra donation) they raised a total of ÂŁ122.55 for Save The Children.

A huge appreciation goes to C25 students and Crew Leaders for helping to raise a three figure sum for charity.